


Ten Years Gone

by Hekate1308



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Regency, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-17 19:40:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16102454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hekate1308/pseuds/Hekate1308
Summary: Ten years ago, Dean left him. Now he returns on another alpha's arm. ABO regency AU.





	Ten Years Gone

“I should have known it would end this way.“

Cas – for a few more moments still Cas, before he returns home and becomes Lord Castiel Novak once more, never to be Cas again – closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “Dean… I meant it when I asked for you to mate me.”

He laughs bitterly. “You meant it until you got the telegram that your family found you a nice suitable omega, not one who makes his living singing at a cabaret.”

“Dean…”

“I’m sure you’ll be very happy together. After all, if there’s no love, you can’t really hurt each other –“

“Dean.”

“You keep repeating my name as if you expect it to change anytime soon. Not that that’s going to happen, now –“

He looks at him, feeling helpless. He can’t possibly call off the engagement his parents have decided to put in the papers without even informing him that he’s going to be mated – it would be shameful to the entire family.

Dean huffs. “Fine, I’m going to America anyway.”

“O thought you said you were staying.”

“When I believed you would keep your word, Castiel” he says coldly.

Cas knows he deserves it.

“Whatever. Good luck for your mated life. You’ll probably need it.”

With that, Dean sweeps past him.

He’s never going to see him again.

The last words he hears before the door closes behind the love of his life are “Just make sure to read the papers, because I’ll be famous!”

**Ten years later**

And being famous he became, Castiel thinks once more ruefully as he reads yet another article about Dean Winchester, the famous omega singer who’s proving all stereotypes wrong.

No doubt he loves it when people write things like that. He always liked it when “People stopped seeing just the omega” at least that’s how he put it back then.

There’s nothing about his private life in the paper. There never is.

“Sir? Would you like another cup of coffee?”

He looks up and meets the eyes of his butler. “No, thank you.”

He nods and leaves the dining room.

The dining room in which Castiel has been having breakfast and dinner alone for years now.

He had returned home for less than two weeks before he called off the engagement despite everything, to the shock of his parents, but he simply could never have brought himself to mate anyone but Dean.

Dean, who by this time had already been in America and never answered any of his telegrams. Not that Castiel could blame him. When the time to be firm had come, he was weak instead, and ten years later, he is still paying the price for it.

The moment he suggested Dean could become his mistress, right before Dean announced he should have known “it would end this way” – how often did he regret it, how often does he still?

He sighs. At least Dean has been doing well.

The butler enters. “A note from your mother, sir. She wishes to reminds you about the soirée at lady Windermere’s in two days’ time.”

“I know” he sighs. The scandal of his broken engagement has long since faded from public memory; all his mother wants now is what she wanted ten years ago, but Castiel will never give in. There is only one omega he wants as his mate, and it will never come to pass.

At least the soiree at Lady Windermere’s will at worst be boring; nothing like the excruciating evenings he had to live through in his youth –

* * *

As it turns out, the soiree is much, much worse than anything he’s ever had to deal with before.

Not because of all the parents throwing their young omega children his way and hoping for the best. Or the other members of the high society cornering him to make small talk. He’s used to that.

No, it happens quite unexpectedly.

Lord Crowley has just been announced. That in itself is a little surprising – as far as Castiel knows, he’s spent the past few years in America – but still – Crowley has always been the kind of person to simply randomly appear out of nowhere.

No, what gets his attention that after a pause to make sure everyone knows who the alpha of the pair is (never mind that anyone who has ever met Crowley knows well enough  _what_  he is) the announcer declares “And his mate, Lord Dean Crowley.”

Of course several heads turns at that. Crowley is famous for having sworn never to mate when he was young, and so far he has kept his vow. Seems like someone has –

But Castiel isn’t one of those lucky ones who get to study Crowley’s mate with only mild curiosity.

No, he’s the only one in the room who feels he can’t breathe, who realizes exactly what Crowley has gained.

Because right there, walking into the ball room on Crowley’s arm, is Dean.

 _His_  Dean.

The Dean who swore he’d never mate anyone else – but that’s unfair, of course. Dean was free to do what he wanted from the moment he stormed off at the end of their last conversation. Who he mates is none of Castiel’s business.

And yet –

And yet –

His heart feels like lead. His throat is dry.

A glass of water is pressed into his hands. “Calm down, cousin” a voice mutters.

“Balthazar” he says, forcing the words out of his mouth, “I didn’t think you were going to come.”

“I wasn’t, but then I decided you might want some backup in case you got pressured to mate again… and look at that, I don’t think I’ve ever made a better decision in my life.” He squeezes his arm. “Deep breaths, Cassie.”

Balthazar was the only one who ever knew of him and Dean. No – that’s not true; it’s only now that he recalls that Crowley must have known to, for he was one of the patrons of the club Dean sang at too, and Castiel could swear the were friends. Does this mean he just waited for his turn? That he knew Castiel would make the wrong choice and –

He swallows. Just get through the night, he tells himself, just get through the night. After all, Lady Windermere always invites everyone she knows; there’s no reason they should even speak, especially since now that Dean Winchester is a lord, everyone is eager to make his acquaintance since he also happens to be a famous artist.

Yes, Castiel can just spend the evening hiding in the shadows. He is used to that.

* * *

And then Dean finds him. If he thought about it at all, Castiel would have been sure that he’d be as anxious to avoid a meeting as he himself is, but then, this is Dean – he never back down from a challenge even before they met, so why would he do so now?

He’s hiding in the library, as he is wont to do during such parties, when someone behind him says, “Hey, Cas.”

He closes his eyes. “No one has called me that in a long time.” He turns around. “Hello, Dean.”

Dean looks amazing, even better perhaps than he did when they parted, and he doesn’t know what to say. He had ten years to think of something and came up with nothing.

“So… you and Crowley?”

That was definitely not what he had in mind. It sounds like an accusation. It sounds like he doesn’t want Dean to be happy, when that’s all he’s wished for in a very long time.

Dean shrugs. “You knew we were friends.”

Yes, and he never understood, even then. “I didn’t mean – that came out wrong. I am glad you found someone who… someone who wasn’t stupid enough to let you get away.”

Dean frowns, as if this isn’t what he expected to hear, and Cas can’t blame him. And maybe, if he didn’t spend the last ten years regretting what he did that night, he might act differently now; perhaps he’d be thrilled that Dean is now a lord, because he could get his mating annulled and his family would accept him because he is no longer a penniless singer –

But he’s matured, and he feels older, so much older than his years, ever lonely night older, and so instead he starts talking, “I miss you so much. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t regretted what I did and said then. I should have broken with my family rather than lose you.”

“Cas…” he breathes and only then does he realize they have moved closer and closer until their noses are almost touching. He should step back but can’t because he will never be that close to Dean again.

“I – I –“

But Dean is playing with his cravat and then discards it altogether, and Cas doesn’t know –

“But –“ he breathes when he realizes.

There is no mating mark.

“Crowley told me – said that maybe – but I refused to go until I had a reason to be there, you know, so we decided we could act like –“

“You’re not mated” he states. “Because –“

“Of course because of you! I never could get you out of my head, you damn gorgeous annoying alpha –“

“Then mate me now.”

Dean blinks. “What? The celebrity singer and the lord? Your mother is going to –“

“I don’t care.” He says it as he should have said it all those years ago.

Dean’s eyes give him his answer.

**Ten minutes later**

“Now, where did you – Really? Mated for an evening, and you are already cheating on me, Squirrel? No, don’t get up; I’ll let Lady Novak know she’s about to be a mother-in-law. It will make the evening more interesting, to say the least.”

“Crowley!”


End file.
